Tag: Gelato

Yes, a truly great meal is punctuated with desserts. Bonus, if your dessert is an exclamation point to a course of appetizing dishes. Aside from satisfying your taste buds, desserts also share historical and cultural tidbits about the country where it is from.

Listed below some countries where you can taste must-try desserts. Let’s take a whirlwind tour of unique and sumptuous treats from across the globe.

How many have you tasted? How many are in your foodie bucket list? Check them out.

Argentina for pastelitos

These flaky puff pastries from Argentina, also referenced to as pastelitos del 25 de Mayo, are usually eaten on their Independence day. Puff pastries the size of wonton wrappers are filled with quince or sweet potato, deep fried, drizzled with sugar syrup, and decorated with colorful sprinkles for a final touch. Aside from a dessert snack, pastelitos can be eaten for breakfast, and best partnered with cafe con leech.

Pastelitos, Photo by El rrienseolava

Brazil for brigadeiros

Celebrations in Brazil are not complete without brigadeiros, a bonbon-like treat. This well-loved dessert is relatively easy to make. You just melt the butter in a pan, add in the condensed milk and cocoa powder, and stir until you get the right consistency. The mixture will then be rolled into small balls, and coated with chocolate sprinkles!

Chocolate Candy, Photo from charles-be

China for dragon beard candy

Legend has it that the first dragon beard candy was spun by an imperial court chef when he wasshowing the emperor the making of a new confection during the Han dynasty. The candy-making process involved stretching a mixture from rice flour into thin strands, which reminded the emperor of a beard. The candy is made from sugar and maltose syrup, formed into a cocoon and stuffed with peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut. It is not only a popular traditional Chinese dessert, it is also considered a handmade traditional art.

Indonesia for dadar gulung

Rolled pancakes, anyone?

Dadar gulung, a popular dessert from Java, Indonesia, literally means pancake (dadar) that is rolled (gulung). The juice extracted from the pandan leaves add the green color and unique aroma to the pancake batter. Once the pancake is made, it is filled with sweet coconut mixture, and rolled, ready to be served

Kue Dadar Gulung, Photo by Midori

Italia for gelato

Craving for a cold treat? The streets of Italy offer gelato, a softer and smoother version of the traditional American ice cream. You will surely delight yourself with the Italian gelato’s slow-to-melt, rich milkiness and intense flavors ranging from fruits and nuts to alcoholic mixtures.

Gelato, Photo by christyxcore

Japan for Mochi

The Japanese mochi is a sticky rice cake made from mochigome, a short-grained glutinous rice.Mochigome is pounded into paste in a ceremony called mochitsuki, and molded into round balls. While available year-round, mochis are often sold and eaten during the Japanese New Year. A variation of this Japanese dessert is the mochi ice cream, which has the sticky rice cake coating a scoop of ice cream inside.

Mochi, Photo by skeeze

Peru for Picarones

In the course of making a substitute for buñuelos, the Peruvians came up with picarones! This dessert is made from squash and sweet potatoes, and deep fried in doughnut form. It is served covered in syrup made from chancaca or solidified molasses. These Peruvian donuts were first made during the Spanish viceroyalty in Lima, but are now popularly sold during religious celebrations in October.

Philippines for the bibingka

An icon during Christmas season in the Philippines, the bibingka is a rice cake often sold in stalls outside churches for the duration of the ‘Misa de Gallo’ or nine-day novena mass. The traditional bibingkang galapong is made from a batter of rice flour and coconut milk or water, and cooked in clay pots, lined with banana leaves. Once cooked, it is topped with a spread of butter, a slice of salted duck egg, sugar, and grated coconut.

Bibingka, Photo by Roberto Verzo, Wikimedia

About the Author

Stacey Marone is a part-time pastry chef, and editor for Scholar Advisor. She hasn’t outgrown her sweet tooth, and decided to make a career out of it. Stacey particularly orders for a country’s traditional dessert whenever she gets the chance to travel.

I can’t remember a time in my adult life when I’ve eaten more ice cream, sorbet and gelato.

A pint or more of sorbet or ice cream is on my shopping list every week. I tell myself I’ll only need a pint but if I don’t pace myself, I can eat all of it in one sitting.

Last weekend, I was in the Bronx where my friend and I had a wonderful meal at Emilia’s on Arthur Avenue. A family-style restaurant, it was packed when we arrived at a little after six. Pat, one of the owners, told us the wait would be about 20 minutes. We took a short walk down the block to check out another restaurant that had been recommended but it was closed for holiday. So civilized.

I don’t normally order lasagna when I go to an Italian restaurant but this time, I decided to. I was very pleased with my selection. The lasagna was light, each layer almost as thin as a wafer. My friend’s Chicken Parmigiana made me wish I had ordered it instead.

Gelato

When the dessert menu came, I looked longingly at the different flavors of sorbet – peach, coconut, orange and lemon – but had to pass. I had no room!

One thing that endears me to a restaurant is the people. By the time we left Emilia’s on Saturday night, we both felt as if we had returned to a place we’d been going to for years. Pat had us in conversation while we waited for our table, then she or her husband would check on us during the meal. We weren’t being singled out for special treatment, they did that routinely with everyone. Pat even introduced us to her granddaughter, who works at Emilia’s on weekends. I could see why the place was so packed when we arrived. It still was when we left hours later.

If you ever make it to the Bronx, just ask anyone how to get to Arthur Avenue in Little Italy and check out Emilia’s.

It’s been in the 90s here in the northeast this week and it made me think of gelato. There was none on the menu at Emilia’s. Anyway, here’s a recipe, courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Directions

In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.

Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.